Boyd's Blog

So one day you get in your car, turn the key and hear a sound that’s more like a NASCAR stock car, a small plane, a farm tractor or something worse. Or, you notice the sickly-sweet smell of exhaust when you’re stopped at a stoplight. 

 

Those are the two surefire signs that you need a muffler. The first is annoying, but the second can be downright dangerous…you should never be able to actually smell your car’s exhaust from inside the passenger compartment, and that smell means that emissions are making their way into your car. Drivers in Marysville, OH know that rust goes along with the salty slush you find on roads in the winter, and one of rust’s favorite targets is your car’s exhaust system. Mufflers, catalytic converters, hangers, pipes and other hardware are all vulnerable to rust due to road salt in the winter!

 

Crawl under your vehicle and get a look at the exhaust system. The catalytic converter will be closer to the engine itself, with the muffler a couple of feet behind (some vehicles will feature a second muffler, called a resonator). Damage from rust should be pretty easy to spot; it can degrade your muffler’s casing to the point where it’s flaking apart or has holes right through it. If you can’t see a hole or flaking, rap the muffler lightly with a hammer. If you can hear things rattle and bounce around inside there, chances are your muffler is falling apart internally. Muffler damage can also come from dragging or bottoming out the undercarriage on an obstacle, speed bump or pothole.

 

The muffler quiets a car’s exhaust by bouncing sound waves inside its baffles, insulation and casing until they essentially cancel each other out. Mufflers are also designed to channel and contain emissions until they are discharged at the tailpipe; one of the most dangerous emissions, of course, is carbon monoxide. CO is odorless and tasteless, but can cause drowsiness, headaches, nausea, confusion and death. 

 

At Boyd’s Tire & Service Center, muffler replacement is just one of the auto repair tasks we can take care of for your vehicle. A noisy muffler is more than just an annoyance, it can be a real safety hazard. Give us a call, make an appointment and get it taken care of! Schedule an appointment for tires or auto repair in Marysville, OH from Boyd's Tire & Service Center.